Pipe Shapes

A Look at Old and New

The Bulldog and its Variants

Bulldog & Bent Bulldog

The Bulldogs have a very distinctive shape. The bowl has a
cross section almost like a pair of cones, placed base to base,
with the upper cone truncated. The shank is diamond shaped, sometimes
with the bottom flattened. The stem can either be tapered or
saddled. The Bent Bulldog typcially has a squatter bowl, and
the shank is angled appropriately for a 1/4 bent stem.

Three more Bulldogs, all GBDs, just 'cause. The top one is
a Squat Bulldog from 1948, the center one, a beautiful GBD XTRA
from 1919, the bottom one is from 1929. The center pipe is one
of the most beautifully cut Bulldogs I've ever seen, though its
rounded edges deviate slightly from the "classic" versions.
But, what can be more classic than a pipe from 1919? Yep. I love
Bulldogs!

Bulldog Variants

Not all Bulldogs can be categorized as straight, or accurately
placed in the Bent Bulldog class. Dunhill, among others, produce
Bulldogs, both tall and squat, with 1/8 bent stems.

Above are pictured a Dunhill Bruyere 146, a very rarely seen
shape, and a Shell PO, 1/8 bent squat bulldog.

Rhodesian, Bull Moose & Bullcap

To my mind, the Rhodesian has a round shank. There are apparently
two schools of thought on this issue, and some feel that any
bent bulldog is a Rhodesian. I prefer to classify the round
shanked versions and those with a diamond shank seperately, and
there seems to be some precident to support this umong some of
the older, more traditional manufactureres. The chubby, voluptuous,
round shanked versions are often incorrectly referred to as the Bull Moose,
though most experts feel that the true Bull Moose sports a “jutting” chin. Call them what
you will, these are beautiful shapes, and perhaps the shapes
that generate more passion in the collecting of them and the
discussion of them than any other!

Above are an Ashton Old Church Rhodesian, a Comoy Extraordinaire
Rhodesian, a 1950 GBD Saddle Rhodesian, and a Comoy Tradition Straight
Rhodesian. (Some would
call this a Bullcap, though I think it's a little too thick and not long enough for
the appelation.)